Sarcoma
A relatively rare cancer that arises from connective tissues such as bone, muscle, fat or cartilage.
Definition
Sarcomas are cancers that arise from the connective tissues of the body — bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels or fibrous tissue. They are much less common than carcinomas but include important diseases such as osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) and rhabdomyosarcoma.
Because sarcomas are uncommon and behave differently from the more familiar epithelial cancers, they are best managed by experienced multidisciplinary teams. Treatment usually involves a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, sometimes preceded by neoadjuvant therapy. Certain sarcomas respond well to specific targeted therapies — for example, GIST is treated with imatinib.
Read the full sarcomas overview for a guided tour of the major subtypes.
See also
- Carcinoma — Cancer that begins in the surface (epithelial) cells lining the skin and internal organs.
- Neoplasm — Any abnormal new growth of tissue, which may be benign or malignant.
- Staging — The process of finding out how large a cancer is and whether it has spread.
- Targeted Therapy — Drugs designed to attack specific molecules involved in cancer growth, with less harm to normal cells.
Related on this site
- cancers/sarcomas
- cancers/soft-tissue-sarcoma
- services/multidisciplinary
- services/chemotherapy
- services/radiation-therapy
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Medically reviewed by
Dr. Rehan Abdullah
Dr. Rehan Abdullah is a dual-trained clinical and radiation oncologist with over a decade of experience treating both solid tumours and hematologic malignancies. He serves as Consultant Oncologist at INMOL Hospital and sees patients at Farooq Hospital and Healthnox Medical Center, Lahore. Read full profile →
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